AURORA | The City of Aurora is working to settle an ongoing lawsuit with the owners of the Edge at Lowry apartments, which gained national notoriety in 2024 when some city officials claimed — without evidence — that it was overrun by gangs, according to city sources.
A civil trial involving allegations by the city that the apartment complex was grossly neglected by owners CBZ Management was slated to begin Jan. 27 for a 10-day trial, but the trial date was vacated as Aurora and building owners work toward a settlement, according to city officials.
“As for the Five Dallas Partners case, it remains ongoing, and we cannot provide any information about specifics of any settlement negotiations per the rules of civil procedure,” Aurora spokesperson Joe Rubino said in a statement.
Five Dallas Partners LLC, a subsidiary of CBZ Management. That’s the property management company that garnered national attention by alleging for the last two years that three of their Aurora properties were taken over by Venezuelan gangs. CBZ is now working to settle an $800,000 bill with Aurora over a lawsuit alleging neglect on the part of the landlords, turning the five-building apartment complex into a public nuisance, city officials said.
At one point, as the controversy over Tren de Aragua Venezuelan gang members at some of the apartments garnered national media attention, city and police officials argued over who was responsible for deplorable conditions in and near the apartment complex. Police and city management officials have maintained that there were some gang-related crimes linked to the buildings, among other numerous crime problems, but that the problems making headlines were caused by documented mismanagement and absent management on site. CBZ officials said gang and crime elements chased off management and that Aurora police did not stop it, according to past emails and other city documents.
Mayor Mike Coffman at one point called the apartment owners “slumlords.”
City officials have maintained that one of the buildings was linked to violent immigrants who were exploiting other immigrants living in the apartment because of the neglect of the owners, not the reverse, as the CBZ owners have alleged.
The civil lawsuit was used by the city to evict everyone living there at the time and shutter the buildings at the Edge at Lowry property on Dallas Street in February 2025 after months of controversy. The city claims in the lawsuit that it accrued $800,000 in costs from maintaining some of the properties’ responsibilities, including trash collection and relocating residents who had the required documents to lease a new apartment, after CBZ management abandoned all of their Aurora properties.
Aurora City Attorney Pete Schulte previously told the Sentinel that the city worked for months to get the property managers into court to first take care of the buildings, and then, as they deteriorated, to close the complex.
The controversy has played out in both the local and national media, eventually drawing the attention of the Trump campaign in fall of 2024.
It’s unclear who actually has title to the buildings now, and what the plans are for the future. County documents available online show the buildings are still linked to CBZ ownership.
CBZ’s former attorney, Stan Garnett, had taken over the case as it neared trial, but CBZ is now represented by Tyson and Mendes LLC, a national insurance defense law firm based in Greenwood Village.
One of the property managers and brother of the owner of CBZ Management, Zev Baumgarten, still has a separate, pending criminal case with the city that is not included in the settlement.
“The latest developments in the Five Dallas Partners LLC civil case have no bearing whatsoever on the seven criminal code violation cases filed against Zev Baumgarten,” City spokesperson Joe Rubino said in an email. “Nothing will change with the criminal charges until Mr. Baumgarten returns to court. He has failed to appear for mandatory court appearances, and the municipal warrants for him remain in place.”
Baugarten’s missed motions hearing court date prompted Aurora Municipal Court Judge Brian Whitney to issue a $2,000 cash bench warrant for each of Baumgarten’s seven summonses.
If Baumgarten turns himself in, the warrant can be converted to public recognizance bonds, Whitney told Baumgarten’s lawyers during his previous hearing, June 11.